Expanding globally? Add local currencies like Kiwi.com

All Business is Local & Sometimes Exotic

We have found that when a merchant accepts local currencies, their approval rates usually increase. This might seem like common sense and easy to achieve – but it’s not. E.g. some regions can present greater challenges. Latin America countries are very local and want to keep it that way. If they see international traffic, they will often decline payments. So, it’s hard for foreign companies to get a foothold in the market there, despite the size of the continent.

Credorax ensures that payments, especially across borders, aren’t an obstacle for successful business growth. Instead of applying a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, we customize solutions based on client needs. Our acquiring platform is built to accept exotic currencies. And it’s not just about acceptance – success means that merchants do not get burned on the other side of the transaction when it comes to getting a good value for the exotic currency.

Credorax improved approval rates for some clients in Peru by adding a local currency. And, for another, we increased approvals in India by 30% by adding support for rupees.

Case Study: Do it like Kiwi.com

Kiwi.com is a flight search engine and an online travel agency that serves up the best flight options at the lowest prices, via an advanced algorithm and intuitive interface. Kiwi.com is dedicated to bringing back the premium travel experience for all travelers, including those flying low-cost airlines.

The company had been growing 40% year-over-year since its 2012 founding and was seeking to expand further beyond a primarily EU customer base. However, Kiwi.com encountered problems familiar to travel companies looking to grow globally. These relate to the ability to process transactions with local (and sometimes exotic currencies) as well as gain insight into transaction patterns and obstacles. Credorax helped Kiwi.com overcome these problems, which we explain in this post, the first of a two-part case study series.

Results All Over the Map

To fuel global expansion, Kiwi.com needed to accept a wider range of currencies; including exotic ones that can be illiquid, lack market depth and trade at low volumes. From the user’s standpoint, the payment process is a key ingredient of experience and satisfaction. When their preferred currency is not accepted, the customer will lose interest and probably not come back. This is especially true in the travel industry, where success depends largely on overcoming borderless e-commerce worldwide.

It’s about the People

We have a dedicated team that specializes in ensuring high approval rates when processing these thinly traded currencies. They used this knowledge to help Kiwi.com increase approvals, and thus achieve higher conversion rates. The site now processes 33 currencies, with 25 categorized as exotic. Transactions run smoothly and efficiently with minimal declines.

Overall, Credorax continues to play a key role in ensuring the utmost, highest approval rates for clients in the online travel space. In fact, in every country it processes in for these clients, it is in line with benchmark numbers and in several regions, it typically ensures between 4-5% approval rates above the benchmark.

Welcome to Smart Acquiring
Credorax is an entirely new breed of acquirer focused specifically on the ecommerce arena. That means that we've developed all of our payment processing services with you, the online merchant, in mind!

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